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<p>I highly recommend Gould's 1997 article "<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.pnas.org/content/94/20/10750">The exaptive
excellence of spandrels as a term and prototype</a>" for an
interesting romp through pendentives and squinches and a nod to
exaptation and cooption along the way. Contrary to SJG's defense
of their earlier paper, I think someone could *contrive* a
building goal, methodology, materials and sequence where the
previously declared spandrels were what were selected for and the
resulting arches and circular opening at top were the
"byproduct". Modern pre-fab techniques could easily start by
forming the pendentives as structural insulated panels (SIPs)
which when stood on end and joined properly at their tips would
thereby create the "negative space" (now spandrels) of archways
with open tops that "just happen" to be useful for "entering and
exiting" a defined space while allowing people inside to "look up
at the sky". Yeh, I know, very contrived.<br>
</p>
<p>If we accept that contrivance or one like it, then the two types
of elements (arches/domes) are duals. <br>
</p>
<p>Foreground recedes to background and vice-versa. I think this
may be a significant feature in the exploration of the
"technological adjacent possible" which we are in the midst of,
using the leverage of "soft assemblage" that modern
software/hardware design principles have brought us. It may go
back a lot further, and I am curious about the early industrial
age when tolerancing opened up interchangeable parts and
facilitated production lines and lowered the bar of skill and
aptitude required of gunsmiths and other mechanics. I believe
that this is what Tinkerers and Hackers are most lauded for...
Cooption?</p>
<p>IF Sober's toy had been arrived at accidentally rather than
contrived to create a specific illusion, I think it would be more
apt. It is illustrative but misleading.<br>
</p>
On 3/14/21 12:02 PM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:thompnickson2@gmail.com">thompnickson2@gmail.com</a> wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:01d701d718fc$44d899b0$ce89cd10$@gmail.com">
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<p class="MsoNormal">Dave, we both agree, I think, that one of
the tests of understanding is the ability to explain an idea
to an honest, persistent questioner. So it is MY
understanding of spandrel that is at stake here, not yours.
I have not looked any of what follows up. It is strictly
from ambient knowledge, and I predict that by the end of the
day, voracious reader that you are, you will know more about
this subject than I. One of my great weakness as a scholar
is that I like to play with the blocks I have, whole new
technologies could arise in block-tower-building, and I would
never know it. I hope that Jon Zingale, another voracious
reader, will weigh in and update me. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The basic idea here, is “side effect” (aka
epiphenomenon). Not all structures are the result of
selection on that structure as we see it. Study this
artifact:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img style="width:4.1736in;height:3.3125in"
id="Picture_x0020_1"
src="cid:part2.6817F317.AD20D3C4@swcp.com" class=""
width="401" height="318"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The illustration is a bit wonky, but I have
seen that toy, so I know it exists. If you see one in a yard
sale please buy it for me, because neither Sober nor I can
find one any more. The idea is that you put marbles of
different sizes/colors in the top of the device (i.e., blue is
large, red is smaller, etc.) and you shake it. The device
sorts the balls for size, and <i>because the different sized
balls are also of different colors, </i>it also sorts for
color. Because we are color obsessed creatures, we tend to
focus on the color-sorting, but the device itself “knows”
nothing of color. Sorting for color is a “side effect” of
sorting for size. Color “comes along with” size. It “falls
out”. In the essay I am working on I call this relation an
“epiphenomenal” relation, and I am writing about it because I
think it is the source of all sorts of confusion in the vital
sciences. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now both Gould and Lewontin were/are?
Developmental biologists. Thinking like theirs was the basis
for the old/new field of “evo-devo”. The basic idea is genes
don’t code for structures, they code for the relative speed or
slowness of chemical events. So, start with a dog’s face say,
where the nose is perched out on the end of the upper jaw.
Now select for a larger brain size, while selection also for a
vastly reduced dentition and jaw size. Bingo, you get a
nose! Similarly with the hyena: select for a more aggressive
female hyena, and BINGO you get a female with a penis. As
Bob’s your Uncle! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The main point of Gould and Lewontin’s
essay was to hammer home the idea that not all structures,
however notable they may be to our eyes, are the result of
selection on those structures as such. It was meant to be a
counter to all of us who were, at the time, trying to explain
the presence of a penis in female hyenas by all the good that
this structure does for the female when she displays it in
aggressive encounters. The fact is that both the display and
the penis come about as an “unintended consequence” of the
selection for high levels of the “aggression hormone”,
testosterone. And there is tremendous evidence of
countervailing selection against the hypertrophied penis
because the females <i>have to give birth through it</i> with
all of the horrific consequences that you can imagine. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No, the trouble comes for me when we begin
to apply the metaphor of a “spandrel”. The spandrels of St.
Marco are triangular shaped decorations that are drawn on the
ceilings of hallways where two corridors meet. The triangular
shape is necessitated by the geometry of intersecting
corridors. They are so elegant that some (it’s said) have
been tempted to explain the structures as designed to
accommodate the drawings, but that is nonsense. The spaces
are side effects of the intersection of the corridors, and the
drawings have been made to accommodate to the spaces. But
where I get confused, and where I may confuse you, is whether
the spaces are the spandrels or the drawings. I think of the
drawings as the spandrels, and since the drawings are
definitely “adapted”, I think of a spandrel as a secondary
adaptation built on a side effect. You might think of the
spandrel as the space, in which case the spandrel is a
structure created as a side effect of selection on one or more
other structures. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, think about arm pits. They are hairy,
and glands in the armpit disperse pheromones. Is the shape of
the armpit been selected for dispersing hormones? We can all
agree that that idea is silly. The shape of the armpit is
dictated by the needs of hanging an arm on a torso. We can
also agree the modification of the sweat glands and the hair
are plausibly “for dispersing” pheromones. What we may
stumble over is whether the “spandrel” is the space where the
hair and glands are located, or the hair and glands
themselves. If you look spandrel up in Wikipedia you will see
endless wrangling about the meaning on “spandrel” and I
suspect that much of it can be sourced to this ambiguity of
the metaphor. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before I close, let me defend for a moment
my use of the word epiphenomenon. One of most important uses
of that word is to state a theory that consciousness is a
side effect of the operation of the brain but events in
consciousness are not in the causal chain of the processes
that produce it. Now can we say that consciousness is a
“spandrel”. Well it depends on where we came out on the
ambiguity above. Is consciousnsess just the “space” created
by the operation of the brain, and has nothing to do with its
own form. Or has the fact of consciousness been seized upon
by subsequent selection to give it causal properties. That is
the language problem that I am trying to sort out. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I need to go get something to eat, but be
fore I send this to you, I will try to steel-man what you
wrote below in some larding. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nick Thompson<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color:#0563C1">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a
href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Friam
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:friam-bounces@redfish.com"><friam-bounces@redfish.com></a> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Prof
David West<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Sunday, March 14, 2021 8:34 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:friam@redfish.com">friam@redfish.com</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [FRIAM] Spandrel<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Let me
attempt to echo what i think I understand from your
example and previous discussions where I lurked:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">A
mutation occurs in an organism resulting in an
morphological change — i.e. a nose, modified jaw, and
modified brain case. I assume, <i>first potential error</i>,
that this is a 'singular' change (e.g. a "face"), not
three separate mutations and three different morphological
changes to three different parts of the organism? [If
there are three separate events, then how are they
"coordinated?"]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>[NST===>Well, this is the
insight of evo-devo. Because development has to adapt
to the vicissitudes of growing up, it has all sorts of
buffering pathways that can be capitalized on by natural
selection. So when a mutation occurs, these buffering
pathways are called into action to permit, in so faras
possible, a viable structure. Development (not genes)
propose; selection disposes. <===nst] </i></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">One
aspect of the original change, the nose, continues to
change — is "decorated."<b><i>[NST===>Selection goes to
work on the structure that selection on other
structures has provided.<===nst] </i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Second
assumption (<i>error</i>): the same forces,
mutation/selection, that cued the 'face' are prompting
promulgation of new nose morphologies, the 'decorations';
which are selected among.<b><i>[NST===>Well, the fact
of this flabby thing left hanging off the front of the
face offers opportunities for further selection.
<===nst] </i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Core
misunderstanding</span></b><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">: it
seems as if this demands some kind of "focused," on the
nose, "micro-evolution." I do not see how such a weird
phenomenon is <u>not</u> required; but cannot fathom from
whence, and how, it came.<b><i>[NST===>OHHHHH! I think
I see the problem. Up till now, I have been arguing
that the nose is not a “thing.” Now , suddenly I have
to argue that it becomes a thing for the purposes of
further evolution. Hmmm. I haven’t really thought
about that before. I think my answer has to be that
there are no such “things” in evolution. Mutations
are never “for” structures; structures are altered by
mutations because they alter the relative rates of
developmental processes. A mutation that cannot
cooperate with developmental process is lethal. You
may have just stumbled on the problem which has been
bothering me about evolution ever since I came to
Santa Fe: if development is such a tangled network,
how on earth do we separate out any one trait for
selection. Selection requires genetic main effects,
additive genetic variance; if all genetic effects are
interactions, then Darwin’s theory is a non starter.
But barnyard selection would also be a non-starter, so
that non-starter argument is itself a non-starter.
But here’s an odd thought I keep having: Could it be
that selection – meta selection – has arranged for
additive genetic variance SO THAT (ugh!#!!!) evolution
can occur? <===nst] </i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">If
mutation/selection occurs only at the 'whole', i.e. the
face, then I do not see why any aspect of that face is
"isolated" such that localized change is deemed somehow
independent of global change and therefore merits the
label: spandrel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Now that
you see how deep I am in a well of misunderstanding, is
rescue possible or is it time to pour in the cement and
cap the well?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>[NST===>No. What I see is how
deep is your understanding of the fundamental problem of
evolutionary theory – the isolation of variance. Not
being a voracious reader I don’t know if anybody else
has worried about that problem. It’s what attracts me
to steve’s line of thought. If, in some way, complexity
theory could explain the isolation of variance
sufficient for natural selection to occur, I would be
very grateful. <===nst] <o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Re arrogance: I think writing
requires arrogance. I can’t imagine starting to write
without the thought that I know SOMETHING, and that of
course is an illusion. <o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Now, in haste. <o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Nick </i></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">davew<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Sat, Mar 13, 2021, at 9:21 PM, <a
href="mailto:thompnickson2@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">thompnickson2@gmail.com</a> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<blockquote
style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt;overflow-wrap:break-word"
id="qt">
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1">Well, “elaboration of an
epiphenomenon” was not the core of the mechanism I
described. It was a fancy little idea I added at the
end. So what about the mechanism that I described was
difficulty to undertad.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="qt-msonormal1">n<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1">Nick Thompson<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><a
href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color:#0563C1">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><a
href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in
0in;border-right-color:currentcolor;border-bottom-color:currentcolor;border-left-color:currentcolor;border-image-outset:0;border-image-repeat:stretch;border-image-slice:100%;border-image-source:none;border-image-width:1">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Friam <<a
href="mailto:friam-bounces@redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">friam-bounces@redfish.com</a>>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Prof David West<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, March 13,
2021 8:41 PM<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>To:</b> <a
href="mailto:friam@redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">friam@redfish.com</a><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Subject:</b> Re: [FRIAM]
Spandrel<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Nick,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">first
apologies for arrogance in first reply. I should
have said that I find the definition derived from
Bonner to be more understandable — to me — and, I
think, it offers an actual mechanism / rationale
that is absent, again to me, than "elaboration of
epiphenomenon." I am enjoying the essay and i see
an interesting connection with Wegner's <i>Arrival
of the Fittest</i> book. That means Jenny Q will
have to read it because and I are working on a paper
in that area.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">davew</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">On
Sat, Mar 13, 2021, at 5:37 PM, <a
href="mailto:thompnickson2@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">thompnickson2@gmail.com</a>
wrote:</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Bonner's a great guy, but I think he's wrong on
that, or you're wrong </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
in interpreting him. The whole thrust of Lewontin
and Gould's work is </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
that there are developmental constraints in
evolution. Even according </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
to orthodox Darwinian theory, mutation is random,
but only with respect </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
to the opportunities a mutation affords. Nothing
says that a mutation </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
can' be predictable, yet random in this sense. Any
"random" assertion </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
requires a point of view from which the stated
variable is random. Any </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
geneticist can tell you which mutations are more
likely than others. </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Nick </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Nick Thompson</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> <a
href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> <a
href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
-----Original Message-----</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
From: Friam <<a
href="mailto:friam-bounces@redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">friam-bounces@redfish.com</a>>
On Behalf Of Prof David West</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2021 6:04 PM</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
To: <a href="mailto:friam@redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">friam@redfish.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Spandrel</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Nick, thank you. I get the metaphor but I think my
“definition” is more </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
correct than ‘elaboration of epiphenom’. I get
that notion from an </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
essay I am reading on randomness in evolution by
John Tyler Bonner</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Davew</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
On Sat, Mar 13, 2021, at 2:08 PM, <a
href="mailto:thompnickson2@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">thompnickson2@gmail.com</a>
wrote:</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Hi Dave,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Ok, since you are also a metaphor enthusiast,
let me explain a </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> spandrel in terms of its root metaphor. A
spandrel, originally, is a </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> decoration on the curved triangular spaces
formed by the intersection </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> of two perpendicularly intersecting archways.
The decorations are so </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> suited to their settings that one might imagine
that the hallways were </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> designed to accommodate them, but, of course,
it is they that are </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> suited to fit the spaces affording by the
intersecting hallways. The </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> same confusion exists with the human nose. The
nose is presumably </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> what was left over when the brain expanded, and
the gut and the jaw </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> shrank. It has been elaborated since to
accommodate its new position, </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> but the nose it self is the result of other
adaptations, not of an </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> adaptation FOR a nose. The most graphic
example, of course, of a </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> spandrel is the erectal and colored pseudopenis
(hypertrophied </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> clitoris) born by the female stripped Hyena.
It is not an adaptation </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> itself, but a consequence of powerful selection
between female </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> genealogies for feeding competition at the
kill, which has select for </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> high levels of testosterone in females. (The
females are heavier than </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> the males, and, in general more nasty in every
way</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> -- definitely examples of testosterone
poisoning.) The coloration of </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> the pseudopenis is the spandrel-part, because
selection has </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> subsequently led to its "decoration". Put
another way, a spandrel is </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> a phenomenon which is an elaboration of an
epiphenomenon.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Does that help at all?</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Nick </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Nick Thompson</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> <a href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> <a
href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> -----Original Message-----</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> From: Friam <<a
href="mailto:friam-bounces@redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">friam-bounces@redfish.com</a>>
On Behalf Of Prof David West</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2021 2:43 PM</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> To: <a href="mailto:friam@redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">friam@redfish.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Subject: [FRIAM] Spandrel</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> A while back there was a lot of discussion of
spandrels that I failed </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> to grasp.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Is a spandrel a stable morphological trait that
results from random </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> chance rather than natural selection?</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Or am I still ignorant.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> Davew</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. ....
. .-. .</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Zoom
Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> GMT-6 <a href="http://bit.ly/virtualfriam"
moz-do-not-send="true">bit.ly/virtualfriam</a>
un/subscribe </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> <a
href="http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> FRIAM-COMIC <a
href="http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> archives: <a
href="http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. ....
. .-. .</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Zoom
Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> GMT-6 <a href="http://bit.ly/virtualfriam"
moz-do-not-send="true">bit.ly/virtualfriam</a>
un/subscribe </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> <a
href="http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> FRIAM-COMIC <a
href="http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
> archives: <a
href="http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
- .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... .
.-. .</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 <a
href="http://bit.ly/virtualfriam"
moz-do-not-send="true">bit.ly/virtualfriam</a>
un/subscribe </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> <a
href="http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
FRIAM-COMIC <a
href="http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
archives: <a
href="http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
- .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... .
.-. .</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 <a
href="http://bit.ly/virtualfriam"
moz-do-not-send="true">bit.ly/virtualfriam</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="qt-msonormal1"><span class="font"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">>
un/subscribe <a
href="http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">- .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. .
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam
un/subscribe <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com">http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com</a>
FRIAM-COMIC <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/">http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/</a>
archives: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/">http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/</a>
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